Fat, Furious and Fed Up

April 4, 2014

Diana says her husband, Robert, weighs nearly 400 pounds and is in denial about his health. And, Rose admits that she’s 100 pounds overweight — and says she's ready to make a change. Dr. Phil calls on Dr. Travis Stork, host of the Emmy Award-winning talk show The Doctors and author of the best-selling book, The Doctor’s Diet, to help these guests adopt healthier eating habits and get them on the road to weight loss. Learn about Dr. Travis' three-phase plan for reaching — and maintaining — your ideal weight. Could it work for you?

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RobertDianaDr. Travis StorkRose

Robert and Diana

Diana, 50, says that at nearly 400 pounds, her husband, Robert, 48, weighs four times more than she does — and she's sick of playing "second fiddle" to food. She says that she's considering divorcing him if he doesn’t get serious about losing weight. Diana admits that she nags Robert daily about being overweight and confesses that she can get nasty when she's angry. But she says that she doesn’t care, because she's sick of Robert's excuses and empty promises about getting healthy. "I just come out both barrels cocked. I tell him that I'm sick of him being * lazy, and I wish that he'd get off his * ass," she says. "Everyone has a breaking point," Diana insists. She adds, "I think I would choose love over food, and I don't understand why he chooses food over love."

Robert maintains that he is genetically predisposed to being overweight and that his body "doesn't accept" dieting. "I even spent $400 or $500 on a juicer and tried that for three months, and I lost a pound. It's very discouraging when that happens," he says. Robert explains that he joined a gym — but says that it was too stinky and crowded. He adds that after a full day's work, he's often too tired to go out and exercise. "She’ll say, 'You’re a fat ass. You’re a lazy ass. You have to try harder," he says about Diana. "I have said, 'If you don't like it, get the * out.'"

Dr. Phil questions Diana about what she calls her "viper tongue." And, Diana admits she has a serious eating problem of her own.

Robert explains that his mother weighed over 500 pounds at the time of her obesity-related death in 2003. He says that for the last three years of her life, she was bedridden and required round-the-clock care, and Diana had to quit her job to take care of her. "This was a 24/7 operation, and Diana was in the middle of it," he says. "I'm afraid that I'm heading down that same path," Robert confides.

"You don't want to be her invalid, but you know that's where you're headed, right?" Dr. Phil says to Robert.

"I'm scared as hell — I'm not going to lie," Robert says. "It just seems nothing is working."

Dr. Phil reviews a long list of Robert's excuses for why he is overweight, including his dislike of gyms, his complaints about various diets and his insistence that he comes from a "bigger" family. "Give me a 'Wow,'" he says. "You have to ask yourself, 'What is wrong with me that I’m letting this happen to me?'" Dr. Phil continues. "You're not doing everything you can."

Dr. Phil introduces Dr. Travis Stork, co-host of the Emmy Award-wining show The Doctors and author of The Doctors Diet. They review some of Robert's medical problems, which include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, sleep apnea and a bad back. "Every single one of those medical problems can be addressed by changing the way you eat," Dr. Travis tells Robert.

"You two have something very much in common: You're both dealing with psychological issues in non-psychological ways."

Dr. Travis has a warning for Robert: "I don't want to have to be the doctor to say, 'It's too late."

"We're going to do a lot of things with you, but the absolute core of it is you making Travis' book, The Doctor's Diet, your Bible," Dr. Phil tells Robert. He adds that he's going to make professional help available to both Robert and Diana to deal with some of the psychological issues behind their over- and under-eating, respectively, and they both accept.

Rose's Story

"I am 33 years old, and I weigh 242 pounds," Rose says. "I have love handles for days, and then I have, like, two separate stomachs. It's ridiculous." Rose adds that because of her weight, she hasn't seen a certain body part, which that she calls her "Suzie," in seven years. "I think I do have an obsession with food," Rose admits. But she insists that she's ready to make a change and start eating healthier in order to get her weight — and her life — back on track.

Dr. Phil reviews a list of some of Rose’s excuses for her dieting failures, including poor willpower and the fact that she's a "Southern girl," who needs to have rice or bread with every meal. He also mentions some of Rose's favorite foods, which she admits include maple syrup sandwiches, fried bologna and ham sandwiches and Big Macs with extra cheese.

Rose explains that she has lost weight in the past but says that she likes quick results and easily becomes discouraged. She recalls that she participated in a weight loss challenge for a radio show and lost 22 pounds. "I worked out five days a week. I had yogurt. I stopped all the starch — everything," she says. But when she found out that she didn't win the contest, Rose says she gave up on dieting — and went straight back to the fast food. "I went across the street to McDonald's and got a Number 1 with extra cheese, two apple pies and large fries," she confesses. "I got so sick off the fat, I thought I had to go to the emergency room."

Dr. Phil surprises Rose with a list of her room service orders while in L.A. Is she really serious about losing weight?

The Doctor's Diet

Dr. Travis explains that The Doctor's Diet consists of three phases: the Stat Plan, which lays out two weeks of meals to jump-start weight loss, the Restore Plan, which adds certain foods back into your diet, and the Maintain Plan for long-term weight control.

Dr. Phil mentions that both Robert and Rose are afraid that being on a diet means deprivation and suffering. "You're saying this is a diet where they don't have to spend one minute of one day hungry," he says to Dr. Travis.

"The minute you get hungry, you've failed," Dr. Travis insists. "Food can — and should — be something that you look at very positively, and that's the mindset shift that needs to take place," he says. "There are actually a lot of foods out there where the portions are big, but they're healthy," he explains. "They're loaded with fiber, and protein and even water, and that helps you feel full. It's a big portion, but it's not a portion that's going to make you gain weight."

"It's not about a diet in the traditional sense. It's about a lifestyle change."

Are Robert and Rose ready to get healthy? Plus, hear from Vanessa, who says she's seen results after only a few weeks!

"I always say good health starts in the kitchen. You need good tools for it," Dr. Travis says. "And you also need to slowly, over time, start adding activity back in," he adds. He tells Robert and Rose that in addition to his book, they're each getting a Vitamix 7500 blender and a training package from Runtastic, including a heart rate monitor, sports armband and the PRO version of the Runtastic app. Robert and Rose also receive Skechers Flex Appeal sport sneakers and a Brino Self-Portrait Camera, which Dr. Travis explains will help them track and show off their weight loss results.

Dr. Phil surprises the audience by announcing that they're all receiving the giveaways as well.